By Kassim Afegbua
No doubt, Benue State purse must have felt the pinch of an ostentatious civic reception for President Jonathan penultimate Thursday in a show of political solidarity in the glare of daunting challenges confronting the nation.

Whoever advised the President and the host Governor to embark on such lavish display of State affluence in the wake of serious security challenges in the nation amid massive poverty, was grossly unfair to the President. And the fact that President Jonathan fell flat for the antics of a Suswan who has been having running political battles in the State against his opponents makes the case a pitiable one.

Under the mantra of a transformational leadership agenda, such a lavish waste of State resources defeats the thematic contents and essence of what a transformational leadership orientation talks about, especially in a country that is grappling with crass unemployment, poor standard of living, abject poverty and political instability.

Doing things the old ways does not add value to the details of transformation agenda. I had thought that the whole essence of transformation as espoused by the media handlers of the President was that old things have passed away as the nation would then wear a new look in the way and manner they indulge their public and private lives.

I had thought that President Jonathan would come up with new ideas that would set the pace for development through deliberate effort at combating corruption and other vices. I had thought that the whole essence of his transformation agenda was to give a new lease of life to public discourse in such a fashion that every Nigerian would feel deeply involved in the project in the interest of the nation.

One would have expected the President to consciously set new rules and standards that would signify a remarkable departure from what we were used to either as carryover of military rule or as part of the inheritance of our old ways. In all the signs and conducts of President Jonathan, he seems to have missed his transformational compass.

President Goodluck Jonathan and Gov. Gabriel Suswam of Benue State at the Commissioning of Otobi Water Project during the President Visit. Photos--state House.

Wasteful civic reception in an era of trying to cut down on recurrent expenditure so that we can save for capital projects is a dis-incentive to the whole essence of this transformational leadership brouhaha. The money that was deployed into the hosting of that civic reception should have been donated to quite a number of needy persons who are daily paraded on television screens seeking for one philanthropist’s attention or the other.

It offends one’s sensibilities each time those persons are paraded on television asking kind-hearted Nigerians to come to their aid. It becomes more offensive when one realizes that what is involved is in most cases a pittance compared to the volumes of money that are being reportedly stolen from public till.

And then you ask yourself the simple question; does it mean that government is not aware of the pitiable condition of most Nigerians or that it is just a deliberate attempt to flaunt ostentation in the face of abject poverty and want? Whatever be the motivation, the civic reception for President Jonathan was misplaced and unnecessary. It amounts to sheer wastage of tax payers’ money by a Governor who has not been able to define the underpinning motive for being in government.

Several villages in Benue State are still begging for attention; no good roads, no electricity, no water and the quality of life have since ebbed as a result of failure of government and governance. We will continue to pray that one day; God will touch the hearts of those who preside over us at various levels in order to attract the much needed development that would make people derive meaning from their individual and collective enterprises.

And we lost four distinguished police officers.

My heart is still bleeding as a result of the painful loss of four Nigerians amongst them a newly promoted Deputy Inspector General of Police, John Haruna. He was a former Commissioner of Police in the FCT during which time; he was able to arrest the insecurity situation in the nation’s capital.

I have had some very rare chances to interact with him especially during the 2006 electioneering campaigns when political Parties were upbeat about who becomes what and how. He was a down-to-earth Officer who deployed all his energy to impress the Nigerian public especially FCT residents that the Police was after all not a bad institution as it was being portrayed. Meeting John Haruna to offer insight into any issue was like getting solution already. Yes, he had very listening ears and was ready to go the whole hug to resolve crises as they unfold. It was therefore a sad day for me when I heard the news of his exit from this sinful world during his tour of duty. It is disheartening that he died as a result of our collective ineffectiveness in maintaining our aircrafts, part of why we remain the way we are.

Helicopter crashes are not too common in the aviation sector. But we have just lost distinguished Nigerians who died in active service for their fatherland. May their gentle souls rest in perfect peace. May God grant Police the fortitude to accord their families what is due to them, amen.

Probes , counter-probes and other matters.

The probes that are on-going have provided for most Nigerians the opportunity to see the rotten underbelly of the Nigerian nation particularly the public sector.

The probes have become drama sessions where questions are being asked with fossilized hate and answers are given with generic stammering when it becomes too unexpected to vomit. Watch the Capital Market probe and one begins to wonder why the House of Representatives would appoint such a light brain young man to delve into a field he probably does not have enough training and background.

At best, the Director General of the Stock Exchange Commission took the probe panel to the cleaners and rightly questioned the integrity of the Panel. According to her, there have been series of demands on the Commission to the extent that the Chairman of the Panel Hernan Hembe has graciously submitted himself for EFCC drillings. Good news from the hallowed chambers.

Talking more seriously, these probes have been very useful in helping the public to know the workings of these institutions and why they have refused to grow. They also exposed the reason why the nation is still an awkwardly overgrown adult still struggling to walk straight. They explained why the nation is poor and the individuals are stupendously rich. The several mentions of billions of dollars and naira gave me convulsion as I could not apparently rationalize this kind of madness.

Without doubt, the probes have also exposed why people are desperate for power and could do anything to get themselves into a system that has refused to work. When one sees the way and manner that government officials’ lavish money at ceremonies and events, one begins to wonder if they truly live within their legitimate income. But this is Nigeria, where anything goes. It is a country of several possibilities and incongruities. It is a country of anything-can-happen. It is a country where the rich smile away with riches and the poor frown away with their poverty.

The fight for anti-corruption would have been more effective if there are disclosures about our financial transactions in the system. Even those whistle blowers who are supposedly protected by the laws are not encouraged to do the job. At times, when they blow their whistles to expose their discoveries, they get consumed in the process by superior contacts and underhand dealings. I have argued before that once the leadership of the anti-corruption agency becomes a product of lobby, such a political position at the discretion of the President, then it immediately defeats the whole essence of a transparent process.

I love the probes but will they take us to the desired destination? For whatever purpose, Nigerians are getting to learn few things about how public officers pilfer away their collective sufferance in one fell swoop without batting an eyelid. We are gradually becoming more vigilant about those who are elected as gate-keepers of our collective patrimony.

We have seen from revelations at the probes panels that Nigerians have been grossly undermined by those who are supposed to move the nation forward. And someone whispered into my ears when I got drenched in the thought-provoking nuance of this whole scandal if the “prober” will ever be probed? If the Presidency will ever be probed? If the Judiciary will ever be probed? And whether the EFCC will derive the courage and stamina to prosecute those who are seen to be culpable by the very fact that they have overwhelming evidence against them?

The House of Representatives should appoint a more profoundly intelligent member who understands the workings of the Capital Market to handle this whole process and not this in-eloquent member called, Hernan Hembe appearing obviously immature before a more grounded Aruma Otteh, the DG of SEC.

Even though I do not agree totally with the presentation of Aruma Otteh, she impressed me with her strong convictions about her stewardship of the Commission, through her delivery and profound knowledge about the role of a regulator in Capital Market operations.

I do not know where Honourable Hembe had worked before nor do I know his background, but his conduct and demeanor thus far has not conferred any authority on him as someone who understands the workings of the capital market. For ease of getting the details in any shady transaction, one must have implicit and explicit knowledge about the subject matter.

What the DG of SEC succeeded in doing was to expose the incompetence of the Panel and that alone tells so much about the quality of those who are supposedly elected to represent us. Let the probes continue and let Nigerians continue to enjoy the twists and turns of the macabre dance. It is one way to move forward, if all other options fail.